Swansea City v Arsenal, EPL, Match Preview and thoughts.

This is why we love the Premier League, so be careful what you wish for.

You're allowed to read this twice if you want - this Saturday, we stage our latest Premier League fixture against Arsenal FC.

Yes, that's right - the Gooners : serial winners (though not of late) but a Club that has legitimate claims to not only occupy that fiction of the EPL (the "big" 4 ),  but has an history and past that puts it realistically amongst the upper echelons of world football.

Quibble all you will, the Deloittes list and others of equal repute always place them in the top 10 European Clubs, so when they come to town, I always get a buzz on.

Listen - in 15yrs time if we've each year finished in the top ten of the PL, having meantime won the odd Capital One Cup and regularly appeared in Finals (various) all the while being entranced by the style of play (as we are), imagine how content the vast majority of we Swans will be.

The Gooners have done a little more than that.

In the last 15yrs, Arsenal have in every season qualified for the Champions League (via a top 4 finish at the least), and reached a Champions League Final, won the PL several times, and the FA Cup several times also, including the double, the League Cup as well, won various other trophies including the Community Shield and achieved countless other awards whilst all the while playing by far the most attractive football in the League.

Oh, and they had an Invincibles, unbeaten season too.

Oops btw I forgot, they've done this whilst moving from their Iconic Highbury Home  (at 36k a little small) to the fantastic Emirates Stadium (60k plus) and doing it, moreover, without putting the sort of debt onto the Club that the Glaziers have done at ManUre. Without also a potentate of sorts as has happened at Citeh and Chelski.

If you're going to be a "BIG" club, seems to me that the Arsenal route (as at Barca and Bayern) is more one to be admired than envied and criticised.

Despite this level of achievement, Arsenal, it's suggested in the more rabid Tabloid Press and TalkShite style phone-ins, are having yet another "poor" season with Arsene Wenger, their increasingly beleagured but permanently cultured Manager having "lost the Plot" and worthy of the Big E.

This feeling is reinforced from the mounting grumblings of their own supporters, and those of we Swans who were blessed to be at the Emirates as Miguel Michu stroked in the second goal in the last minute to cement our 2-0 victory can't fail to have noticed the resounding boos for the home team, however ill deserved we percieve them to be.

So, what's gone wrong? Not a great deal, I'd suggest. Some perspective, please.

You'll probably have heard this one - but please, bear with me if you haven't.

George Best was one of the top 10 footballers in the World - ever - but he was a bit of a rascal, a sort of Gazza with 10 times more talent - but an equal propensity to self destruct.

All but the very young still reading will have heard the possibly apocryphal but defining tale of George Best - the British Messi of his day (he was THAT good, trust me), being delivered  a room service trolley by a waiter at the Ritz, serving Champagne to him and the then current Miss World in bed on a Friday evening prior to a game against Chelsea at the Bridge the following day.

Whilst the purported waiter gazed at these two semi naked beautiful young people locked in a passionate embrace on a bed scattered with roses, petals  and £5 and £10 notes he, the waiter, is reported to have involuntarily (almost) said.................. " Oh George, George, where did it all go wrong??????".

Now I may have gone over the top in attempting to draw a parallel between Best, Gazza and other talented but wayward talents and the travails of the modern Arsenal (when compared to other Clubs) but you'll forgive me if I remind those Gooner critics who are demanding Wenger's replacement for his plethora of late non-achievement.....................be careful what you wish for!

We who've spent the majority of our hundred year existence down amongst the dead men of the Football League are, not surprisingly, a little more enthused to celebrate our recent successes (Capital One Cup amongst them) and our performances in this unforgiving League against what the red tops still lazily call "the Arsenals of this world" (as if there were loads of them - there aren't) with a little more equanimity.

Regular success, it seems, breeds complacency - and we, along with lots of clubs, are a long long way from that.

So, again, a little perspective, please.

Despite reports to the contrary, Arsenal currently sit in 5th place in the PL on 47pts and we in 9th on 40pts.

We've achieved our principal aim this season ( staying in the division) and been treated to a blissful Capital One Cup run that saw us secure Europa League involvement next year in our 5-0 mauling of Bradford City in the Final.

Still, as ML has pointed out, our next target is to see how high we can get. He's suggested 50pts is achievable before season's end and that seems to me to be realistic.

In our 2-1 defeat last Saturday at WBA, our first half performance (and late late wrong goalscoring denial by the officials) suggested we at least haven't switched off - Steve Clarke agreed - and our players are not thinking of the beaches just yet. That, at the very least, is how we MUST mean to go on.

As for them, you wouldn't bet against them achieving yet another top 4 finish just yet, but with just 9 games left it's becoming progressively more difficult, and we'll seek to add to this problem for Monsieur Wenger.

Earlier this week , prior to their CL fixture at Bayern, TalkShite, via it's resident Bulldog Adrian Durham, and the well known "Bring on the Wall" presenter and fat ex-Cricketer Darren Gough, spent a whole couple of hours on radio slinging mud at the "cowardice" of Wenger for putting out a reserve side against the German Champions in the upcoming tie, as had been suggested in the gutter press earlier that day.

At which point, of course, the Arsenal gaffer did no such thing. He picked a near full strength side that proceeded to win 2-0 and almost drag the tie back from the dead.

So, how will that impact on us?

My point, as I've said above, is that we should all within football be careful what we wish for. The game has a regular habit of kicking us in the nether regions by regularly surprising us.

The Gooners are without Jack Wilshere it seems, the young English Maestro being protected after feeling tender in the shins after his long layoff and participation in many games of late.

Lucas Fabiansky looks likely to keep the GK spot in front of Wojciech Szczesny, and the back 4 at Bayern paired Per Mertesacker with Laurent Koscielny at CB, with Carl Jenkinson at RB. The English qualified but Finnish born FB signed from Charlton had a very good game, but at LB, Nacho Monreal, signed from Malaga in January should replace Kieran Gibbs who was injured again.

Thomas Vermaelen, the Club Captain, is set to deputise should there be any changes in these areas.

We'll maybe get our first look at Santi Cazorla, one of the very finest of the many current crop of Superb Spanish Midfielders along with another Spaniard, the hard working Mikel Arteta who has never been able to get into the all powerful Spanish squad. Cazorla is a player who makes paying decent money for entrance seem worthwhile, and Arteta's on and off field charm make you think that not ALL footballers are either stupid or self-obsessed.

Up front maybe Olivier Giroud, the increasingly successful Frenchman acquired from Montpellier, and maybe Lucas Podolski, the hard shooting German all but-record Capholder. Both were signed after the latest of a long line of almost "forced" sales - Flamini, Henry, Fabregas, Song, Van Persie amongst others who have fanned the flames, but it would take a deeper piece than this to throw some light on that view.

And then there's the option of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wide (or narrow in Walcott's wish). Either are lightning quick and will go on to have very good careers, so will require attention from us.

Thomas Rosicky, almost a forgotten man but a gifted footballer played midweek too, so there's another talented individual to worry about.

From these few names you'll see that there's a huge amount of both quality and experience. Thus, the game will not be easy, and any points gained will be gratefully received by me, at least.

That's not to say we shouldn't hope and play for better - for the win.

This will be a game where we know that the opposition will at least not to kick us off the field, and the ensuing outcome threatens to be one of the better adverts for the EPL, since we, just like them, like to and can play a bit.

After having dominated the first half against WBA last week, the team seemed to me to me to feel the full impact of the loss of a key cog, namely Leon Britton, but I'm encouraged to think he'll be fit by ML this week allowing Mark Gower go to Charlton on loan (and good luck to a decent servant).

Moreover, the rest of the team is fairly settled, the only 3 questions being these.

1) If Chico is still not fit who partners Ash. Personally I'd like to see Bartley, particularly after his decent cameo against the Arse in the home FA Cup tie draw.
2) Luke Moore up front again ?, or a reversal to the false-9 Michu?  I opt for the latter.
3) This option leads on from the last - please can we play the three wingers again - I just think it improves the full flow of our game.

So, there you have it. We have a month of these sorts of quality fixtures to look forward to at the Lib - next up come Tottenham and soon also last year's Champs Man City.

Don't you just bloody LOVE being a Swan in these fantastic times. My guess is we ALL do.

Onward, Swansea City.

WBA v Swansea City preview plus other things...

Take me up......

Like many Swansea City fanatics, given our recent, rewarding and justified  good press and "big up" in the National Media I've been much given on reflecting from whence we came - but - truly, as Harold McMillan  once said - "We've never had it so good ".

Just as curiously, when asked why things could go wrong for him, the then PM and his party, he presciently replied ... "Events, dear Boy, events". (He was an Old Etonian after all, a sort of truly upper class Cameroon).

Let me tell you a secret - midway through our first season in the Premier League - last season since we forget - we WestStanders were having a pre match Pint in the Concourse when one of my compadres said that if we lost today.....,,,,,, " it'll be your bloody fault since you've had a haircut and a shave ".

I must confess I had, indeed, turning from Razputin/Worzel Gummage into a 60yr old Borstal Boy.

Needless to say, we proceeded to lose ( the 3-1 Norwich City game) since you ask.

At that point, unsurprisingly, I vowed it would NEVER, EVER happen again.

So this season started with me as a recently shorn, clean shaven skinhead, and progressed through the months with my developing hirsuteness, all the while stipulating that there'd be no change prior to our making those 40 "magic" points.

I'm here today to tell you that after last week's convincing win v Newcastle, the Fu Man Chu is trimmed, again, and the fading Barnet is neater than before.

WooHoo.

Here's a question for you, and please, be honest when you answer in your own head.

How many of us, myself included, would have said pre season we'd win the Capital One Cup and be safe on 40pts some 10 games from season's end. Wished, certainly. Hoped, fervently. Believed, perhaps, but not a large number, I'll presume.

The above , of course, doesn't pre-suppose that we expected our side to struggle or do hugely worse - but I feel we were all a little nervous again given we'd gone through yet another Managerial change. As it happens, we'd be hard pushed to argue that on the contrary , it couldn't have gone a great deal better than it has, and we're indeed witnessing our proud Club's best ever year, in this, our centenary season.


Results, and their effects (events, dear boy) are paramount, of course, but all of us who've been there to see, for instance, the first half against West Brom at Home, Michu's 2 goals at the Emirates at the death, or the bizarre 0-0 at Sunderland when we played them off the park will always remember individual occassions over a Seasonal outlook, within limits.

Bloody hell, we didn't half play well and look good, and that's a major source of pride in itself.


Moving on what this means without any caveat is that we're a seriously achieving Club with a seriously resultant outcome from this best of Seasons and, if we continue to perform at the level we're capable of, there's no reason to think that it'll be any different from now on in.


We've learned from Michael Laudrup, our justly esteemed Gaffer, that it's possible to follow stellar performaces with yet another, and also it's feasible to bounce back from disappointing ones to go better again.

This charming, serious, grounded Manager has taken the PL by storm, part of his charm being his culpability in admitting his limitations (shock,horror) and his few wrong turnings being equally accepted with his many and more various successes. It would seem that his fantastic, World Class playing career has given him nothing other than a sensitive and friend winning personal charm. Just watch him being interviewed in ANY situation and tell me you don't feel proud that he's in charge of our Club. Respect, Guv'nor.

So, as ML has pointed out, you motivate players by setting them new and different targets, and he's concentrated our players' minds by pointing out that this weekend's visit to West Brom is our chance to establish supremancy (or not) from the 2 teams percieved to being the "surprises of the season" in their performances. It'll be hard, we know, but part of the ongoing motivation will surely include what my compadre and ST fellow Jim voiced in a conversation with me today.

His theory was this - having already achieved stability, and won some serious silverware to boot, there will be many eyes cast our way. For the players what a chance to prove a) they can be good enough to be here next year b ) for some, what a chance to showcase their talents and move on to bigger (if not better) things and c)   if you weren't in either of those 2 categories, here's a chance to get in.

Laudrup, he insists, is likely to have made them aware of all of these possibilities and MORE, so we shouldn't think that we're going to complacent. It seems to me to be a vaguely compelling argument, so we can genuinely hope for more decent things out of this smorgasbord of a season.

Last year to the Hawthorns was a stunning, snowy trip , where Gylfi Sigurdsson's double saw us come away with a 3-1 win in a superb and classy passing Away performance, so a repeat of that would be highly acceptable. Still, as some things change, some remain the same.

Albion are still a hugely competitive opponent, and whilst their squad hasn't changed radically, there's an argument to be made it has improved. Here it is, currently,...................

1 Ben Foster GK, 2 Steven Reid Def, 3 Jonas Olsson Def, 4 Goran Popov Def, 5 Claudio Yacob MF, 6 Liam Ridgewell Def, 7 James Morrison MF, 8 Markus Rosenberg Str, 9 Shane Long Str, 11 Chris Brunt MF, 13 Boaz Myhill GK, 14 Jerome Thomas MF, 15 George Thorne MF, 16 Scott Allan MF, 17 Graham Dorrans MF, 19 Luke Daniels GK, 20 Romelu Lukaku Str, 21 Youssouf Mulumbu MF, 22 Zoltan Gera MF, 23 Gareth McAuley Def, 24 Peter Odemwingie Str, 26 James Hurst Def, 28 Billy Jones Def, 30 Gabriel Tamas Def, 32 Marc-Antoine Fortune Str, 35 Romaine Sawyers MF, 36 Adil Nabi Str, 38 Saido Berahino Str, 40 Liam O'Neil Def, 43 Isaiah Brown MF

Rather than go through the squad one by one, some players I'd suggest have been hugely influential in this fine team's progression, and you'll excuse me if I start at the top.

The Manager, Steve Clarke, although previously a no 2 at Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool has always been considered a first class Coach, so although it may have seemed like a risk when he replaced England Recruit Roy Hodgson , he immediately asserted his presence on the Training Field, and even that odd beast "the modern football player", can't fail to have been impressed. Albion's players weren't , and their early season results were exceptional. They've since hit one or two blips, but ask their fans what they think and there'll be a large proportion happy with where they are.

Talking of England's Mr Hodgson, as the previously employed WBA Manager, he was perhaps well positioned to persuade Ben Foster, Albion's keeper to come out of his self-imposed England exile, and the suggestion is that the Baggies keeper, who's having an outstanding year, is likely to be called up Nationally soon.

In MF the key performer is Claudio Yacob, a much underrated Argentine defensive MF'er who's ball winning and control is as important to them as our own Leon Britton.

Up front, the Man/Boy Romelu Lokaku, on a season long loan from Chelsea, continues to show the form that should make Fernando Torres doubters at the Bridge take a chill pill - here comes the new Didier Drogba. Chelsea's loss this year is Albion's gain.

Looking through the list, the other outstanding performers are the sublimely skilled Chris Brunt, a sort of Jordi Gomez with attitude and application ; Zoltan Gera, the flaky (Hungarian) MF'r- veers from the divine to the ridiculous and Peter Odemwingie, the QPR player manque, famed for his transfer deadline day faux pas, but dangerous on the field. I also admire James Morrison, the Scot another product of Middlesbrough's underrated Academy. Shane Long, ex Reading, can sometimes be a buzz saw nuiscance to defenders, and has great heart.

I've hinted above what I think ML's mental approach might be (albeit simplistically) to the Players, so I'm perfectly content to go with whichever team he sees fit, though, if Chico is still unfit (and we KNOW what GM can give us ) it might be interesting to see how Kyle Bartley copes at the back.

Anyway, enough from me.

Given that our next two games, at Home as well, are against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur and the delight that this evolving team and season continues to give us I can only wish you as much hapiness as I'm getting. We are living a rather more structured dream than some in the recent past. Enjoy.

Onward, Swansea City.